The Cracking of the Sky
by Willowmist
Summary: Prey has vanished in the forest, and the Clans' belief in StarClan has melted. When it seems like all hope has disappeared, a young loner comes to SunClan. Could she possibly be able to save the Clans from ultimate destruction? Rated T for safety.
1. Allegiances

**Author's Note|| Hi everyone, and, stuff... This is my first fanfic-- well, at least that I'm publishing. So be nice and read and review! I know 'tis really bad, but. xD**

**Disclaimer|| I don't own Warriors. Erin Hunter is amazing. ^^ Credit for some of the names go to my friends. **

SunClan= ThunderClan

CloudClan= RiverClan

MistClan= WindClan

MoonClan= ShadowClan

Allegiances

SUNCLAN

LEADER Berrystar—large black and white tom with green eyes

Apprentice, Willowpaw

DEPUTY Hawkwing—small dappled she-cat with misty blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT Spottedstream—pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

Rapidstream—sleek gray she-cat with hazel eyes

Apprentice, Silverpaw

Jaggedstripe—gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Mosspaw

Fernwhisper—snow white blind she-cat with cloudy blue eyes

Thorntail—prickly brown tabby tom with green eyes

Apprentice, Autumnpaw

Orangefur—red-orange tabby tom with brown eyes

Duststorm—dusty brown tom with hazel eyes

Blackfrost—completely black tom with white paws and blue eyes

Apprentice, Hickorypaw

APPRENTICES (more than six months old, in training to become warriors)

Autumnpaw—reddish orange she-cat with blue eyes

Silverpaw—silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Hickorypaw—flame-colored ginger tom with amber eyes

Mosspaw—grayish-black tom with blue eyes

Willowpaw—amber she-cat with white underbelly and paws and green eyes

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Ivydapple—white she-cat dappled with gray specks and has amber eyes, mother of Orangefur's kits: Icekit (fluffy white she-cat with blue eyes), Fallenkit (brown tom with brown eyes)

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Longwhisker—brownish-gray tabby tom with amber eyes and extremely long whiskers

Robinflight—calico she-cat with blue eyes

CLOUDCLAN

LEADER Yellowstar—prickly gray she-cat with blue eyes

DEPUTY Whispersong—silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT Cloudspots—white tom with black blotches and brown eyes

Apprentice, Lightningpaw

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

Leafstorm— wildly dappled light brown she-cat with darker brown spots and golden eyes

Apprentice, Redpaw

Pinewhisker—brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Dapplepaw

Oakfur—blue-ish gray tom with yellow eyes

Dawnflower—pretty golden she-cat with green eyes

Rivercloud—silver tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

Apprentice, Bluepaw

Tigerblaze—brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Whiteclaw—white tom with long claws and blue eyes

Apprentice, Maplepaw

APPRENTICES (more than six months old, in training to become warriors)

Redpaw—golden red tom with green eyes

Dapplepaw—pretty brown dappled she-cat with warm amber eyes

Bluepaw—blue-gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Maplepaw—red-orange she-cat with green eyes

Lightningpaw—gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Poppyheart—light brown tabby she-cat with golden eyes, mother of Oakfur's kits: Grasskit (striped light brown tabby tom with piercing yellow eyes), Thistlekit (dark brown tabby tom with golden eyes), Cherrykit (pretty orange-colored she-cat with blue eyes)

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Manglepelt—grumpy old gray tom with a mangled pelt and brown eyes

Violettail—pretty gray she-cat with a violet tinge to her tail, blue eyes

MISTCLAN

LEADER Littlestar—small wirey brown she-cat with gray eyes

DEPUTY Appletail—golden red she-cat with amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT Smallstorm—brown tiger she-cat with brown eyes

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

Smokefoot—smoky gray tom with green eyes

Apprentice, Flowerpaw

Moonflower—pretty gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Apprentice, Sparrowpaw

Forestfire—brown tabby tom with piercing green eyes

Iceheart—white she-cat with icy blue eyes

Apprentice, Birchpaw

Cloudfang—black and white patched tom with cloudy blue eyes

Apprentice, Heatherpaw

Otterwhisker—long-furred dark brown tom with green eyes

APPRENTICES (more than six months old, in training to become warriors)

Sparrowpaw—brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Flowerpaw—pretty brown dappled she-cat with brown eyes

Birchpaw— light brown she-cat with green eyes

Heatherpaw—tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Blossompetal—calico she-cat with light hazel eyes, mother of Forestfire's kits

Brightdawn—pretty silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Cloudfang's kits: Mousekit (dusky light brown she-cat with blue eyes), Minnowkit (silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes)

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Brokenear—old patchy brown tom with yellow eyes

Stonefall—gray tom with light yellow eyes

Copperfoot—copper she-cat with amber eyes

MOONCLAN

LEADER Duskstar—large dusty gray tom with bright green eyes

DEPUTY Foxheart—ginger she-cat with amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT Hazelpool—hazel she-cat with hazel eyes

Apprentice, Ashpaw

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

Stormshadow—gray tabby tom with green eyes

Squirrelfur—bright ginger she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice, Firepaw

Russettail—orange-brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Apprentice, Adderpaw

Owlwhisker—brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Apprentice, Cedarpaw

Goldenstripes—golden tabby she-cat with light golden eyes

Apprentice, Silentpaw

APPRENTICES (more than six months old, in training to become warriors)

Firepaw—ginger tom with green eyes and a flame colored pelt

Cedarpaw—dark brown she-cat with pretty blue eyes

Silentpaw—mute silver tabby she-cat with hazel eyes

Adderpaw—gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

Ashpaw—small dusky gray tom with green eyes

QUEENS (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Oceanbreeze—pretty golden she-cat with green eyes, mother of Owlwhisker's kits: Marshkit (dusty brown tabby tom with blue eyes), Darkkit (sleek black tom with yellow eyes)

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Tidepool—once pretty silver she-cat with green eyes

Flickertail—cranky old brown tom with amber eyes and a restless tail


	2. Prologue

Prologue

An amber she-cat peered out from behind an old oak rather tediously, observing the two figures before her carefully.

The first one, seemingly the leader of the two, stood on its two, long hind legs, waving it's forepaws around elaborately then stuffing them in its funny-colored fur. It was giant, perhaps nearly 15 times of herself, with a pale, white pelt that then led on to multiple colored fur. A massive clump of shaggy brown ferns spiked up on top of its head, nearly covering a pair of bright blue eyes. An odd shaped nose—or at least, what she thought was a nose—was perched upon it's face, dotted with many, tiny speckles. Its mouth sat right below these features, closing and opening rapidly, a steady stream of non-interpretable words flowing out.

The creature reached into its fur and pulled out three items which the cat had never seen before. It struck one with the other and a bright flame appeared. Then it proceeded to moving this ember to the other device, and shoving the other things into its fur. It slowly "sipped" the item—a short, stubby, white stick—sending wisps of smoke out. The she-cat instinctively shied away, sputtering and coughing quietly.

The second, almost an identical copy of the first, did the same. The two creatures laughed menacingly, spit flying out of their mouths as they talked.

With a start the young cat realized what the creatures were—Nofurs! Her father had warned her about these dangerous creatures multiple times, but she had never paid much attention, always running off to play. Now she wished that she had listened.

Another realization hit. On those white sticks—it was _fire _that was licking at them! The loner knew from her parents that fire was very dangerous, that it could demolish entire forests in a blink of an eye. She turned to go back to the barn where she and her family--her parents, Dawn and Dusk; and her two sisters, Peach and Rose—lived, to warn them.

No sooner that she had whipped around to pad into the barn, the cat turned back.

Something was wrong. The Nofurs were now in their monster, but a gleam hidden in some ferns caught her eye. It was sticks—and still lit!

The amber she-cat sprinted toward the barn, but it was too late. The fire had grown, now a giant monster of hot fury. And it had taken ahold of her home. She wanted to go back, but she knew that if she did, she would only get roasted and killed as well.

"Peach! Rose! Mom, dad!" she wailed hopelessly, watching the fire burn before her eyes. A small tear, crystal clear as morning dew, spilled out of the young cat's eyes and splattered broken on the hard forest floor. She blinked her eyes closed, holding back tears, as the flames lapped greedily at the remains of her home, family, and dreams, now all gone forever.


	3. Rising Sun

Chapter 1: Rising Sun

A large black and white tom sat inside his den, green eyes intensely observing Clan life. All cats were probably curled up inside their dens. But still, even without the rain, there was no laughing, no sharing tongues at sunset. All of the cheerfulness of the camp was gone, all traces of the old routine washed away by this new flood of miserableness. Hunger and food raids were killing them off one by one, and no one had strength to keep up with training anymore.

"Berrystar," a small she-cat poked her head in.

The leader raised his head, hugely relieved that it wasn't some enemy warrior, come to assassinate him. But even so, he still had his old battle skills. "Hawkwing, come in, please."

The dappled deputy padded in, holding a plump mouse from her jaws. Berrystar's green eyes widened in surprise.

"A whole mouse? And it's pretty plump, too! Where ever did you find such a thing? Did the raiding patrol to CloudClan bring it back?" The leader of SunClan asked.

Usually, in leaf-bare, every Clan lacked food. But there was still enough to keep them alive. However, now, everything was different. All of a sudden, there seemed to be no prey to be found anywhere. Cats died one after another. His own son, Snowpath, had died from hunger. Seeing this, the Clan cats became more discouraged. Their faith in StarClan melted, and raiding parties replaced hunting patrols, to steal food from the other Clans. Survival was the only thing they thought of.

Hawkwing shook her head, a slight smile dancing on her lips. "No, Berrystar. I went out and caught it myself. The raiding patrol reported that they couldn't find anything in CloudClan."

Berrystar blinked. So even CloudClan's seemingly never empty river had no prey. He suddenly sighed, wondering out loud, "Is this how we're going to end? Dying of starvation? We're lucky that you caught that mouse, but what about the rest of the Clan?" Hawkwing opened her mouth to answer, but Berrystar shook his head and grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry, Hawkwing. I shouldn't burden you with these worries. Anyway, what was it that you came to talk to me about?"

"On their way back to camp, the raiding party scented a loner on our territory," Hawkwing explained. When Berrystar didn't respond, she asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

Berrystar smiled wryly. "Do about it? What can I do, anyway?" He glanced at the deputy and added, "Well, if the loner comes to our camp, maybe we can convince him or her to join. I know, it's an extra mouth, but maybe the loner can help."  
Hawkwing bit back her words of skeptism, and shrugged nonchalantly.

The pitter-patter of raindrops beating the ground outside was the only sound as the two old friends shared their only meal in days.

***

Sunlight glared down at naked trees, which had only their branches to protect them. Weeds and grasses were slowly poking their heads through the ground, which was still damp form last night's storm. The scene reflected late leaf-bare, except one thing was missing.

_There's no prey, _she thought. It was true. The budding forest was devoid of the usual birds' chirps. No scampering of small animals as they darted into their burrows could be heard. There was no living creature around besides the small she-cat.

The sun shone down on her scabby amber fur, which no longer held its rich, glossy sheen. Lusterless forest green orbs stared out sleepily above a tiny, dull-pink colored nose. Her face was patterned with white, as well as her long tail which she curled across her white paws. A tuft of whiteness spotted her chest, before revealing her completely white underbelly. Overall, the she-cat was already small for her age, but now her ribs poked out and she looked even skinnier. Journeying across mountains without any prey had truly taken its toll on the young cat.

She stood up, parting her jaws to scent to air in hope of _something _edible, not have eaten in nearly a week, when the fire had devastated her home. The memory brought a stab of pain to her heart, and she glared at the barren ground fiercely. The she-cat shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, and continued to walk. The scent of many starving cats was in the air.

After walking for a while, she soon found the source. A thick, intimidating, bramble wall blocked her entrance, the sharp brambles pointing accusingly at her. The she-cat poked her head around and found that the real entrance was concealed next to the bramble wall, in between it and a large boulder. Furthermore, a ditch lay behind the boulder, also decorated with thorns and ready to assault any unwanted intruder. The amber cat padded in, careful to avoid any brambles and the ditch.

Green eyes widened once she fully stepped in. There were cats everywhere, all looking so emaciated that she could see their bones. The camp was well structured, dens lining the sides against the would-be undergrowth of the forest, surrounding the clearing in the middle. The cats' dull eyes flickered up for a moment, then back down. The young she-cat guessed that they were too hungry to actually do anything about her.

"What are you doing here?! Get out of our camp!" a hostile voice hissed as a brown tabby tom stepped out of the wiry shadows of the trees.

The amber loner jumped, surprised at the venom in his words. The brown tabby tom had green eyes, and was just as famished as the others. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude—"

The tom glared at her, and took a step closer. "You didn't mean to intrude? How can you intrude and not mean it? What, you wanna fight?" Gleaming claws slid into the hard ground.

"Thorntail, leave her alone," a large black and white tom spoke; it was obvious that he was the leader of the group of cats.

Thorntail opened his mouth to argue, but instead spat on the ground before the she-cat and stalked off into a den. The loner watched him go, still a bit shaken.

The black and white tom drew himself up to his full size, which was a bit intimidating. His ribs also showed, but he acted like he didn't mind the lack of food at all. The amber and white cat knew that this wasn't true; however tough one might act, no cat could ever escape from the menacing clutches of starvation. "I am Berrystar, leader of SunClan. Who are you?"

"Me?" she squeaked. "My name is Willow."

***

"What do you think, Willow? Would you like to join SunClan?" Berrystar asked, studying the small loner with his deep, green orbs. They were seated [somewhat] cozily in the leader's den.

Willow blinked, not knowing what to say. She certainly hadn't expected Berrystar to offer her _this_. Rather, she had expected him to reprimand her for trespassing and then throw her out, maybe into that big, thorn-filled ditch. "I…I really don't know." _And plus, my parents and sisters…that fire…they might've survived! I still have to search! _

"You could stay the night and decide tomorrow, if that's okay with Berrystar," Hawkwing, the SunClan deputy, added, glancing at the leader.

The leader nodded. "You can sleep in the apprentices' den," he mewed, flicking his tail at the den. "Tell us your decision tomorrow."

Willow nodded her thanks, and ducked out of the den.

When she emerged, nearly all the cats looked up. Some gave her hostile glares—namely Thorntail, his brown tabby fur bristling and his teeth bared—while others looked neutral or uncaring, or even somewhat friendly—though they were mostly the younger cats—apprentices, she guessed.

Willow sighed, still thinking about Berrystar's offer, and sat down hesitantly next to a few big rocks. She scanned the clearing for maybe something she could help out with, or someone to talk to, and was surprised to see two she-cats—about her age—padding to her.

"Hi," the silver tabby smiled at her. "I'm Silverpaw."

"And I'm Autumnpaw," added the reddish orange she-cat hastily, not wanting to be forgotten. "Welcome to SunClan. What's your name?"

The loner blinked at them, not sure how to react after being welcomed so quickly. "I'm Willow. Umm…nice to meet you," she meowed tentatively, kneading her white paws on the hard ground.

"We just came back from a scavenging patrol when we saw you. You're a loner, right? Are you going to join SunClan, Willow?" Silverpaw cocked her head as she asked,

Willow shrugged. "Berrystar asked me to, but I haven't decided yet, so I'm going to stay for the night, since it's already pretty late, and decide tomorrow." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Thorntail with some other cats, all glaring and spitting at her. The amber and white she-cat fidgeted uncomfortably under their malevolent stares. _Maybe I really shouldn't stay. Everyone seems to hate me. Well, besides Berrystar, Hawkwing, Silverpaw, and Autumnpaw, I guess… _she mentally corrected herself.

Autumnpaw's blue eyes followed Willow's to Thorntail, and then glanced back at Willow's expression. "Oh, don't worry about Thorntail. He's mean to basically everyone. And all the other cats are just wary because of the low food supply. They're really nice once you get to know them."

"Yeah," Silverpaw agreed, nodding. She pointed at the fiery, yellowish sun with her striped tail. "It's sunset. C'mon, let's go get food!" The silver tabby bounded off, Autumnpaw running after her. Willow hesitated, then padded slowly after them.

"At sunset, all the SunClan cats gather at our food storage. Berrystar divides up the day's work into portions, and hands them out. There are always warriors standing guard at the storage to protect it from other Clans," Silverpaw explained, once they were in line to receive food.

Berrystar pushed two nuts to each of them, then turned to supply the next cat—which, as it happens, turned out to be Thorntail.

"Berrystar, why are you sharing our food with _her?_" he scowled angrily. "She never even did anything! Even worse, she's not even a Clan cat! Do you just feed every cat who passes by?" A few murmurs of agreement rustled through the clearing of cats, even some supporting yowls.

The leader's green eyes turned icy. "I'll determine who gets fed or not. Or have you forgotten that I am the leader of this Clan?" he mewed quietly, but sternly.

Willow watched as Thorntail muttered a few unintelligible words, then turned away to sit down with her new friends.

"Look, Willow! These are the nuts that we gathered!" Autumnpaw grinned, leaning down to scoop them up in her mouth. "The squirrels are really stupid to just hide them."

Willow gazed down at the measly nuts, which were dry and puckered. She sighed. Was this how these Clan cats lived? So many of them, yet no food at all. Waiting to die of starvation… Fighting over food, having to scavenge and eat nuts instead of fresh, juicy prey. The loner glanced at the two apprentices. "Thanks for sharing."

"No problem," Silverpaw yawned, stretching after finishing her nuts. "I'm tired; I'm going to go to sleep now. Autumnpaw and I have raiding party at sunrise." She trotted off into the apprentices' den, the reddish orange she-cat loyally following her. Willow quickly swallowed her nuts, and padded in after them.

Autumnpaw waved her tail around breezily. "Pick any nest, Willow." She settled down next to Silverpaw, and instantly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Willow blinked, and lay down in the clump of moss besides the two. She squirmed around for a bit, trying to get comfortable. _Should I join SunClan or not? Living here will be hard with no prey, but I feel like I should help, somehow… Although, what about my parents and Peach and Rose? Maybe… _The loner yawned, her green eyes flickering close, and finally let her mind wander into the deep darkness of sleep.

***

Willow awoke to the nearly silent paw steps of her two friends as they rose for the sunrise raiding party. "Silverpaw? Autumnpaw?"

"Yeah? We're leaving now. Sorry we woke you up," Autumnpaw whispered sheepishly with a large yawn.

The loner nodded, then stood up as well, watching the two apprentices exit. She blinked in surprise when she saw two other apprentices also sleeping in the den. _I never saw them enter last night… _Willow shrugged to herself, and stepped out.

"Berrystar?" she poked her head halfway into the leader's den. Willow was startled to see the leader already up and waiting for her.

He flicked his black and white tail at her, motioning for her to come in. "Have you made your decision yet, Willow? Whether you'll join our Clan or not?" he questioned, his face perfectly expressionless.

"Yes," Willow nodded slowly, her voice faltering for a second. With more confidence, she spoke again. "I will join SunClan."


End file.
